Madera Community Hospital’s Board of Trustees has fired back at State Sen. Anna for saying the hospital does not have a plan to reopen, while criticizing California’s newly enacted $150 million loan program for distressed hospitals as “not enough.”
Board Chair Deidre da Silva wrote a letter to Caballero last week detailing the reasons behind the hospital’s closure and asking for her to use her position and influence to help reopen the hospital, The Sun reports.
Madera Community Hospital closed its doors on Jan. 10 following years of financial struggles fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the high cost of travel nurses and the low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates provided by the state.
Caballero in an interview said the hospital has not produced the needed financial documents nor a plan to reopen, both of which are required to comply with the loan program.
The hospital fired back, saying Caballero mischaracterized and misrepresented the hospital in her comments to the media. Madera Community Hospital provided five years of audited financial statements to Caballero’s office on Jan. 10, the hospital said.
The hospital says it needs $250,000 to hire a consultant to create a plan to comply with a loan program, a process that is expected to take two to three months. While the hospital asked Madera County to participate in developing the plan, the Madera County Board of Supervisors denied the request in March.
Madera Community Hospital estimates that reopening will cost $50 million, yet an official said the hospital would be quickly back in the hole if it was able to reopen because of the inadequate Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. Read more.
